FILE--In a March 2013 file photo the "Speaker's gavel" is seen in the House of Representatives at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. Around the nation, July 1 marks the start of fiscal calendars and the date recently passed legislation goes into effect, although many states celebrate their independence by also enacting new regulations on their own calendar. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, file)

Photo: Seth Perlman, Associated Press

FILE--In a March 2013 file photo the "Speaker's gavel" is seen in...

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In this Aug. 4, 2013 photo, a man identified only as Pedro holds a leaf from a marijuana plant at his home in Mexico City. A group of leftist Mexico City lawmakers have introduced a bill, Thursday Feb 13, 2014, to legalize the sale of marijuana in the nation's capital. Since 2009, Mexico has allowed the possession of 5 grams of marijuana, about four joints, for personal use. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Photo: Marco Ugarte, Associated Press

In this Aug. 4, 2013 photo, a man identified only as Pedro holds a...

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Gun owner Jeff Levinger shows how his weapon must be legally transported: unloaded and locked in a case, and carried separate from the ammunition, as he arrives at the Jackson Arms shooting range in South San Francisco.

Photo: Michael Macor / Michael Macor / The Chronicle

Gun owner Jeff Levinger shows how his weapon must be legally...

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A well used bible sits among Geneva Eaton's things in her livingroom, Thursday October 10, 2013, in her apartment at Hacienda Public Housing Complex in Richmond, Calif. For four months, Eaton has lived a daily routine where she throws out food she can barely afford, she calls a maintenance hotline for help. She bathes her walls in bleach in the hopes of scaring away the creatures. Still the Housing Authority hasnÕt fixed the problem. ÒIÕm in hell in this place,Ó Eaton said. ÒThey donÕt care about us at all.Ó

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

A well used bible sits among Geneva Eaton's things in her...

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This photo provided by the Dayton, Ohio Police on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014 shows a gun recovered by Dayton bus driver Ricky Wagoner after he was attacked early Monday, Feb. 24. Wagoner, who is white, told Dayton police that he was outside his bus when three black men shot at him, with two bullets hitting a book of bible verses in his shirt pocket and one hitting his leg. He said he was also stabbed in the arm. (AP Photo/Dayton Police via The Dayton Daily News) LOCAL PRINT OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WKEF-TV OUT; WRGT-TV OUT; WDTN-TV OUT

The next time you're tempted to sign a petition for an initiative outside the entrance to your local grocery store ... stop. Read it. The text might be very different, or at least way more complicated, than the quick pitch you just heard. "Do you want to take money out of politics? Sign here!" "Want to reduce crime? Sign here!" "Do you care about (choose one) privacy/property rights/freedom of speech or religion/local schools? Sign here!"

There's some crazy stuff out there being proposed for the November ballot.

This is the high season for petition circulation for California initiatives, with no fewer than 47 facing deadlines between this week and July to gather between 504,760 (to establish or change a law) and 807,615 (to amend the state Constitution) signatures.

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper drew attention last week to his plan to split California into six states. It would even break up the 415 area code: Marin County (state of North California) would be across the border from San Francisco, which would be joined with the 510s, 925s and 408s in the state of Silicon Valley. Laugh if you will, but in this age of paid gatherers, no measure can be counted off the ballot if backed by deep pockets.

So you want to get money out of politics? How about Jon Cox's solution of a "neighborhood legislature"?

Cox, 58-year-old owner of "several thousand apartments" - none in regulation-rich California, he pointedly notes - has proposed a Legislature with one Assembly member for every 5,000 people and one senator for every 10,000. These part-time, telecommuting legislators would learn $1,000 a year and have a final vote on every bill (via the Internet) at the finish line.

Do the math. In a state with 37 million people, that would mean about 3,700 senators and 7,400 Assembly members.

"Will we get some crazies?" Cox asked, anticipating the question. "Yes," he conceded, quickly adding, "They'll only get through once."

Cox, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego County), said the grassroots nature of his system (see www.neighborhoodlegislature.com) would allow voters to quickly identify and unseat lawmakers who are embarrassing or neglecting their constituents. He also suggested that the system would put a premium on door-to-door campaigning and thus would eliminate the role of money in politics.

"A good pair of shoes is all you need," Cox said.

It gets wackier, and more than a bit scarier if you believe in the separation of church and state.

Do you truly want to preserve freedom of religion through the neutrality of government? If so, it would be hard to imagine a better way to undermine it than by inserting the "authority of the Bible" into the state Constitution to broadly immunize all speech proclaiming "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father" against government interference. It specifically mentions condemnation of abortion, gay marriage, yoga or myriad other ostensibly anti-biblical practices at any public place.

One can instantly see where this is going: If upheld by the inevitable court challenge, it would invalidate any restrictions on the haranguing of patients entering or leaving abortion clinics.

It gets worse.

Remember all the fuss over the broadly worded Arizona legislation that would effectively allow business owners the right to refuse service to gays, lesbians and others based on religious grounds? The initiative being circulated in California goes even further.

Under that Bible-Based Speech constitutional amendment, no individual or business could be compelled to "violate their liberty or conscience based on the Bible as authority." It expressly states that actions based on the Bible could not constitute discrimination or a hate crime (details at www.yesjesusislord.org).

Pastor Allan Esses of Irvine repeatedly emphasized in a phone conversation last week that the initiative, being circulated among fundamentalist churches, is "not out of a lack of love or respect" for others, but a duty to "be obedient with what God says."

He anticipated that the amendment would apply to a photographer or baker who refused to provide service to a same-sex wedding ceremony - to cite two examples of legal cases from other states - though he did not feel that a restaurant or medical provider could refuse service on the basis of sexual orientation. However, the actual language of the measure invites myriad forms of discrimination.

Esses said the protections would apply to faith-based acts by all religions, though the measure specifically mentions only Christianity. Why? Esses said Christians are being singled out for ostracization in modern America.

"I'm called hateful, I'm mocked, because I believe in what the Bible says," said Esses. "If people don't see that there's a tremendous attack on Christianity, and religion as a whole, they're being naive. They're not reading the papers or watching television."

Many Muslim and Jewish groups might disagree that hostility toward Christians is qualitatively, if not quantitatively, worse than for other religions.

There will be - and should be - serious debates this fall over whether Californians should restrain public-employee pension costs, end a futile drug war, streamline the death penalty, proceed with high-speed rail and various other important policy decisions.

Voters have no time for distractions. Read the content before you sign a petition. Stop the nonsense before it goes any further.

Coming your way on the November ballot?

A sampling of the initiatives that have been cleared for signature gathering.

WISTFUL THINKING

Six states: Divides California six ways, which would require approval by Congress. Chances of that? Less than zero.

Supersize Legislature: Increases number of elected members almost 100-fold, each representing as few as 5,000 people.